Annotating The 'Theatre For Children' Text and First Ideas For Project

Today, we were given the task of annotating the text about 'Theatre For Children', that we was handed out on Tuesday. We also came up with some of our first ideas for our 'Theatre For Children' project. One of my personal targets is to be more vocal during lessons, but as I am use to devising performances in small groups and getting all of my ideas across. It is important to put my ideas forward in larger groups (the whole class). Also, with this target in mind, it should motivate me to become an even more vocal member of the small group that I'm currently working in.

I have decided to photograph the whole text, as I found all of the information written very useful. I have also typed my more-difficult-to-read annotations underneath the images. Here is the annotated text:

• An idea that could be used in our project.

 

 

• Very important to remember (especially the kids age).

• Children often play games like 'Mums and Dads', 'Dolls' and 'Doctors And Nurses', which are basically Improvised Drama Pieces.

 

• I might need to play more than one character.
• I can use The Experience of Panto.

• You can't predict the way in which the performance may inspire them.
• Energy is The Key, as well as exaggerated physicality

• They can handle difficult issues, which can be very engaging.
• Good to remember for project
 

• The Focus is on The Children and so you should play to The Children, without patronising them.

• Don't underestimate their memory. It's not necessary to keep repeating important details.

• Work on diction, rather than shouting to get words across.

• Every performance should be as though it's never been done before.

• Don't be put off and remain focused.

• Very useful information for The Project.

• Remain focused and in-character or risk loosing the suspension of reality.

• Don't make them feel bad/ silly if their response is wrong.

• Continue the scenes, as if not stirred by the comments.

• A quiet audience is a positive thing.

• This is what we experienced at Panto. Children and adults have different senses of humour.

• Give characters more than one trait.

• Build heavily on one specific trait in order to make it come across to The Audience.

With my target in mind, I took it upon myself to be one of the most responsive members of The Group, in regards to coming up with ideas, and I ended up giving the most ideas. Some of my ideas were as follows:

• Fairytales (Twists to an original fairytale or a modernised/more realistic version)
• Musicals
• Magic/ Enchantment
• International influences (Set in Africa/ China/ Brazil)
• Fables
• Superheroes 

As a group, we came up with the idea of a School Kid, who doesn't believe in themselves and is told by his/her teacher that he/she is not a valued member of the school. This kid finds themselve being transported into the magical World of Fairytales. He/she must battle numerous familiar, evil villains to save the day, proving that he/she is indeed a hero, who simply needed to believe in themselves.

An alternative moral to our story was that, 'you should believe in your friends and you can't always do things alone'. In this version, despite what is often believed, in the Fairytales, (or in our versions, at least) The Hero never saved the day without the help of his friends. We thought of including Fairytales and stories from popular novels. Some possibilities are; Rapunzel, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz and The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe.

Members of the group suggested that our physicality must be particularly strong and I thought that we should also come up with clever transitions from one fairy tale to another. For example, The hero could fall down Rapunzel's Tower and end up in Wonderland (as if  they had fallen down the rabbit hole). We thought about the practicalities of 'falling' and decided that moving across the stage wildly (as if The Hero had lost control), accompanied musical effects could give our intended impression to The Audience.